The Meeting of The Institutes
by Nephilim Jedi
Summary: Tessa, Will, and Jem travel to NY to meet with the NY institute. Turns out Tessa has a friend there. Cue jealous Will. Plot thickens, but I don't want to have any spoilers. :D  OC
1. Chapter 1

New York looked a little like London, but somehow more cheerful. Even though it was early December, the sun was shining brightly and the brick sidewalks were crowded with people dressed in vivid colors. Some were walking, some behind booths with food, and some just standing or sitting on the steps of the tall brownstones. For Will it was a bit of a culture shock. He was so used to the varying shades of grey in London, not the bright, loud, colorful city of New York.

"Come on!" Tessa urged as she hurried across the bridge connecting the steamer they had come from London on. Charlotte had sent them to meet with shadowhunters from the New York Institute. Apparently this meeting was an annual ordeal, and more of a formality than an assembly with an actual purpose. This year it was the London Institute's turn to make the journey. Charlotte was busy trying to keep her position as head of the Institute, so she sent Jem, Will, and Tessa to go instead. She had wanted to send Gabriel and his brother along with them, but decided not to after the three very forcefully encouraged her not to.

"Really Tessa, why are we in a hurry? I- Tessa?" Will looked where she had previously been standing, but that section of sidewalk was now vacant, except for her abandoned suitcase. Will looked around confused, and a little annoyed. He found her again standing in the middle of a cobblestone square that was surrounded by trees.

"Jack!" Tessa cried with a huge smile. A tall and well-built man with brown hair and a handsome but boyish face returned the smile.

"Tessa!" he yelled back "You're here!" Will watched in shock as Tessa threw herself into the arms of this strange man. With a growl he reached into his coat where he had several lethal weapons concealed. But Jem put a hand on his arm to stop him.

"Now William, don't go murdering innocent mundanes. We've only been here a few minutes, and it's in all our best interests to keep you out of prison for at least a couple hours. And anyway, he's Jack, not a greater demon." Jem picked up his and Tessa's suitcases and started walking over to Tessa and Jack who were done hugging, and were now happily catching up. That left Will standing there in the middle of the sidewalk like an idiot. He decided right then and there that he didn't like Jack_. Who is this guy? And why did Tessa tell Jem about him, but not me? _Will thought to himself. He was a little disappointed that Tessa had told Jem about her old friends, and not him. But he supposed he shouldn't complain because if Tessa told him everything, she would expect him to tell her everything, and there was no way in Hell that that would ever come close to happening. Will stooped down to pick up his suitcase and follow the happy trio down the street.

"So Tessa how was it in London?" Jack asked. He was still smiling at Tessa. He had a face that looked like it was very used to smiling. Not smirking, not sneering, just grinning and laughing.

"It was wonderful! Nate has a house there and there was a library down the street, so I would borrow books and read them in the park. That's where I met Will and Jem." Tessa explained animatedly. Jem was surprised at the ease at which the lies rolled off Tessa's tongue. He knew it couldn't be easy to lie to one of your closest friends. Not that he had any experience in that field. "So, what have you been up to?" Tessa asked Jack.

"Oh, a little bit of this, a little bit of that. Right now I'm a chimney sweeper. I haven't fallen off a roof yet, so it's going pretty good. Last week I was a courier. I have some stories to tell you from that. One time an old lady had me lead a flock of ducks from the park to her house. Ducks are wicked creatures." He visibly grimaced as if he had recalled a horrifying memory of that day.

"Sounds like you've had some adventures. I think Will will agree with you about the ducks though. The ducks in London are positively diabolical."

"Yes, you told me about that in your letters." Jack said with a chuckle. "Where is Will? I thought you said he was coming too."

"He is…" Tessa said, craning her neck to try to see where Will went. "Probably found a pub and decided to stay the night." Tessa muttered under her breath, earning a chuckle from Jem, and a confused look from Jack. Tessa's eyes finally found a mess of black hair on top of a beautiful face with a discontented frown. "Will!" Tessa called "hurry up! I have to introduce you to Jack!" Will grunted in response, but made no move to quicken his pace. Tessa sighed, and went back to talking to Jack. Jem discreetly slowed his stride and fell into step with Will.

"What's with you?" He asked, none too delicately. Will just looked at him, but that one hostile look was enough to get the point across. Jem shrugged and caught up to Tessa again, leaving Will to his brooding. When they arrived at their hotel the sun was high in the sky. The constant heat and brutal light annoyed Will, who was used to the gloomy, overcast weather in London. But Tessa couldn't get enough of it. Will couldn't help but stare as Tessa tipped her head back toward the sun. With her long hair spilling down her back and her mouth curled up in a content smile she looked like an angel. Will then mentally kicked himself for entertaining such a blatant cliché. He finally caught up with Tessa, Jem, and Jack at the entrance to the hotel.

"Now that Will has decided to join us" Tessa said "I can introduce you. Jack, this is William Herondale, Will, this is Jack Connors." Tessa gestured to each of them. Jack extended his hand,

"It's a pleasure to meet you Will. Can I call you Will?" Jack said pleasantly, flashing one of his infectious smiles.

"No." Will said flatly, and looked him straight in the eye with a steely glare, making Jack retract his hand awkwardly. After a minute of very uncomfortable silence Tessa suggested that they check in to their hotel, drop off their luggage then go to lunch somewhere.

They checked into their hotel, and put their luggage in their respective rooms. Will and Jem shared a room simply but tastefully furnished with two beds, a large dresser and a writing desk. Tessa's room was down the hall. After entering his room Will promptly collapsed on his bed and stared at the ceiling.

"Come on Will, Tessa wants to have lunch at a restaurant down the street." Jem said prodding Will with his cane. When Will didn't move, Jem shoved him off the bed with his foot, sending him tumbling to the floor. Will muttered some curses as he picked himself up off the ground. He stood up and said,

"Let's get this over with." Jem smiled and walked out the door, leaving it open for Will who loudly kicked it closed from the hallway. They met up with Tessa and Jack in the lobby. They were talking and laughing so hard that people were looking at them funny. They looked like a couple. At that moment Will's hatred for Jack Collins grew to outright loathing. _Stupid mundane, _he thought. _You'd better back off or I will break your face. _

"You okay?" Jem asked, looking at Will sideways.

"Just peachy." Will responded, plastering a fake smile on his face.

"Hi guys!" Tessa said with a grin. "So Jack was telling me about this great place that just opened-"

"It's just down the street-" Jack said,

"And it's called Delmonico's" Tessa finished. _Dear God they're finishing each other's sentences!_ Will thought.

"Sounds good." Jem said cheerfully. They walked down South William Street until they came to a café on the corner of the sidewalk. They were seated outside the café around a small table that had a nice view of the street. Much to Will's annoyance, he got the seat in direct sunlight. Gradually an uncomfortable silence fell upon the group, so Tessa tried to stir up some conversation.

"Will, don't you have some funny story to tell us?"

"No." Will replied, and took a sip of his water. Disappointed, Tessa surrendered to the lack of discussion and started playing with her napkin ring. Will abruptly stood and excused himself to go to the bathroom. He quickly walked back through the restaurant but instead of heading to the bathroom he walked through the kitchen and into the back alleyway. He ignored the horrible smell of the alley and proceeded to give himself a pep talk. _Come on Herondale it's time to snap out of it! You're better than this. Nothing has ever bothered you this much before. You need to stop caring. _But he knew that was impossible, so he started figuring out his plan B. _I've got to get Connors on her bad side... But how? _He thought hard for a minute, and then a plan started formulating. _If I take him out, and get him really drunk, he'll do all the relationship-ruining himself. It's perfect! Tessa will be happy with me because I'm being friends with her friend, but she'll be really mad at smiley boy! It's foolproof! _

**(A/N) So there you go. Next chapter will have a fluff scene, because seriously, every story needs some fluffiness. And for those of you who don't' like fluff… Psh. Who am I kidding? EVERYONE LOVES FLUFF! :D But don't worry it's not all fluff, Will sets phase one of his master plan into action. heh heh heh…**

**PS. I come up with pretty lame-sauce titles, so if you have a different title idea I want to hear it!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Last time on The meeting of the Institutes: Tessa, Will, and Jem travel to New York to meet with shadowhunters from the New York Institute. When they get there Tessa meets up with an old friend, Jack Connors. Will instantly becomes irrationally jealous and decides to create a master plan in which he gets Jack on Tessa's bad side. **

Will returned to the table with a renewed sense of confidence. He sat down at the silent table and leaned back in his chair so it was balancing on its two back legs.

"Well this is certainly interesting conversation, but I am inclined to change the subject, it's getting much too profound for me." Will said in his usual facetious tone. Will effortlessly started an amusing argument about which country had better tasting breakfast pastries. Tessa mouthed a _thank you_ to Will for saving them from a very uncomfortable lunch. They stayed for another hour at Delmonico's. Their conversation never stopped and always had at least one of them laughing. They wandered back to their hotel, walking through the park and around different parts of town. Since Jack and Jem were talking, Tessa fell into step with Will, who was kicking a stone along the sidewalk.

"Thanks for that, back in the restaurant." Tessa said, watching the stone tumble down the walkway.

"You're welcome," Will said simply. He was more focused on trying to sneak glances at Tessa while she wasn't looking.

"I'm glad you're back to your old self. You didn't seem right this morning." Tessa said looking up at him.

"I was…" Will started, desperately trying to find an excuse, "I was really tired."

"Are you not sleeping well?" Tessa asked with genuine concern,

"No," Will chuckled, "It's just all the traveling. I guess it finally caught up with me." They walked in silence for a few minutes, until they neared a pond.

"Look, Will! Ducks!"Tessa laughed at Will's wary expression as he looked at the ducks swim around the pond lazily.

"Come on, let's feed them!" Tessa grabbed Will's sleeve and skipped over to an old man who was feeding the ducks. "Excuse me sir, can you spare a piece of bread? I've never fed ducks before, and I want to try it." The old man smiled at her and replied,

"For that pretty face I can spare two." Tessa instantly blushed a deep scarlet, and thanked the man for the bread. She then dragged Will over to a flock of ducks and handed him a piece of the bread.

"Now I think you tear the bread into little pieces and toss it to the ducks." Tessa said, half to herself.

"Or we don't so the ducks won't attack us." Will said. Tessa rolled her eyes and replied,

"Ducks don't attack people."

"They do if they have demon pox." Will said earnestly. Tessa just shoved him a little, and went back to tearing up her bread. "Just don't worry. If the ducks do start to attack I will protect you." He said as he gazed fondly down at Tessa. Tessa started throwing bits of the bread at the ducks. A few quickly scooped up the pieces in their beaks, but stayed in the pond. Gaining confidence, Tessa started throwing handfuls of crumbs on the ground around the pond.

"See Will? They're perfectly completely peaceful." Tessa said. But she had spoken too soon. The other ducks were gathering to see who was throwing crumbs. When they identified her as the source of the food, they charged. Within seconds Tessa had close to thirty ducks swarming her, all quacking flapping her wings. Tessa had barely enough time to scream before Will had scooped her up in his arms and jumped up onto a nearby wall, effectively evading the attacking ducks. They just stood there for a second, petrified, waiting for the ducks to lose interest and go harass someone else. They eventually did, some returning to the pond, and some moving on to their next victim.

"Now do you believe me?" Will asked staring at the ducks.

"Yes." Tessa said "Only about the ducks though, Demon pox isn't real," she added quickly. Will smiled, and hopped down from the wall. He offered his hand to help Tessa down, but she just held her skirts and hopped down with as much ease and grace as Will had. She subconsciously smoothed down her skirts as she said,

"We should probably go, Jack and Jem will be wondering where we went." Will nodded in agreement. He offered his arm to Tessa; she took it, leaning close to him. As they were walking out of the park Tessa asked him, "Was it just me or did the duck's eyes turn red when they attacked?"

"I keep telling you," Will said with a grin, "Demon pox"

_I wonder where they went. _Jem thought idly. He could imagine quite a few places Will would go, but not with Tessa. He decided to not think too much over it, but rather enjoy his walk back to the hotel.

"So are Tessa and Will together?" Jack asked Jem, deliberately looking across the street. Jem was stunned by this question, but more stunned that he didn't know the answer.

"I honestly can't say." Jem said.

"Can't say, or won't" Jack said, grinning jokingly at him.

"I honest to God have no idea what's going on between them." Jem reassures Jack. "What about you and Tessa?" Jem asked. Jack looked down at the sidewalk, and shrugged,

"Oh, the usual, I've been in love with her since we were five, but she thinks of me as a friend."

"How long have you known each other?" Jem asked. He was a bit curious about how they knew each other.

"Her aunt and my mother were good friends. They would sometimes come over for dinner and we would play together. Then in school we were always in the same classes." Jack continued, "She seems different now, though. Like something happened in London that she's not telling me. She seems more… serious." Jem cleared his throat and quickly thought of the best way to change the subject. Lying wasn't his forte. Thankfully right then Will and Tessa stumbled out of the park only a hundred feet or so behind Jem and Jack.

"Jack!" Tessa called "Wait up!" She gathered up her skirts and swiftly walked over to them, with Will behind her.

"Where were you two?" Jem asked nonchalantly as he started walking again. Tessa and Will exchanged a grin and Tessa answered, "We were attacked by cannibal ducks." They laughed at Jack and Jem's perplexed expressions, as Tessa explained how they really were attacked by ducks. By the time they got back to the hotel room it was sunset and it was getting cold. Tessa retreated to her room to read before bed. That left Will, Jem, and Jack alone in the lobby playing cards. Jem was getting tired, so he excused himself shortly after Will started counting cards. _Time to set my plan into action, _Will thought.

"Want to go get drunk?" Will asked as casually as you would ask for the time. Jack raised an eyebrow, but didn't have the same reaction that most would have.

"That depends. Are you buying?" Will cracked a smile. _This is going to be easier than I thought. _

"Neither of us are."

"Well alright then." Jack said, stood and grabbed his jacket. "I know a few good places." Will had to restrain himself from letting out an evil chuckle as he too grabbed his coat and followed Jack out into the street.

**Hey everybody! I want to thank everyone for the reviews! They make me happy :D So since I have a couple chapters stored up (thank goodness because I jacked up my finger at softball practice and as of now have to type with one hand) so I'll be updating every week. I promise I won't go MIA in the middle of the story, then pop back up again two years later. Also I need to disclaimify . I don't own ID . Ok I'm going to stop now before I start a full on ramble. Happy Holidays! :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**Last time on The Meeting of The Institutes: mostly Tessiam fluff, we learn that Jack has had a huge crush on Tessa since they were kids. Will executes phase one of his master plan (get Jack to go drinking with him) with little resistance. (I'm sorry this is late! I had a crazy weekend then the uploader was being stupid and my Dad was nagging me to clean my room. I'll stop making excuses now… =.=)**

The pub that Jack led him to wasn't as dark or shady as the bars Will was used to, but as long as Jack did something stupid in a drunken haze Will was okay with it. They took two seats at the bar. Jack asked for a beer. _American, _Will mocked inside of his head,_ absolutely no taste. _Will got his usual gin, and they drank. Will was impressed with Jack and how much he could handle. After about an hour Will was exceptionally hammered, but Jack was still self-aware and coordinated.

"Why aren't you drunk?" Will slurred.

"I don't get drunk. It takes about four bottles of brandy to get me tipsy." Jack said brightly. "It's a gift." Will took another swig of his drink and muttered to himself something indecipherable, then slumped down on the bar, knocking over some glasses. "And now it's time go home. " Jack said as he lifted Will to his feet and slung an arm over his shoulder to help him walk. They had made their way about a block away from the bar when Will pushed Jack away and attempted to walk by himself.

"I'm a bloody shadowhunter I don't need some mundane to help me walk." Will muttered to himself as he leaned heavily against the wall and walked using heavy steps.

"Come on Will you're going to hurt yourself." Jack said as he tried to help Will down a step. Will shoved him again, and clambered down the step, almost falling twice. He made it to the next lamp post when he unceremoniously fell flat on his back, narrowly missing a puddle of muddy water. Jack hastily came to prop him up.

"I hate you." Will slurred with a menacing glare.

"Why?" Jack said with an amused tone as he lifted Will back up.

"You stole Tessa." Will said flatly.

"I believe it was you that stole her." Jack said, matter-of-factly, but maintaining his amused attitude. "Because I don't believe she was yours in the first place," Jack added teasingly. Will spat some undoubtedly good insult at Jack that was regrettably lost due to the fact that he was having trouble stringing together comprehensible phrases. So instead he did another death glare. Jack chuckle good naturedly and said, "So I take it you fancy Tessa?" Will didn't answer. "Well go tell her. We'll all get a good laugh out of it." Will stopped for a moment, his intoxicated brain considering whether to go confess his undying love or not.

"Fine." He said "I'll do it." Will said, standing up straight.

"Wait- really? That was a joke, you don't have to." Jack hurried to say. Will turned to him and said,

"Just because you were too much of a coward to say what you think doesn't mean I have to be." With that Will started walking down the street, feeling considerably less drunk. Jack stood there watching him go with a looking conflicted, and a little hurt.

Will arrived at their hotel without tripping and falling along the way. He steeled his nerves before picking up what he thought was a small stone and flinging it at Tessa's window. His drunken brain completely overestimated the distance he was throwing and completely underestimated the size of the rock, so instead of producing a tapping sound against her window, the rock went through the window, shattering it and hitting the wall with a loud _crack_. There was a short scream before a figure in white appeared beside the window holding a bow with an arrow trained on Will. He vaguely wondered where she got the bow, but those thoughts were soon replaced when she stepped into full view. Tessa lowered her weapon.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING WILLIAM?" Tessa shouted at him, causing him to cringe. Then realization dawned on her. "You're drunk aren't you?" When Will didn't reply she sighed, and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Goodnight William." She turned away, carefully picking her way around the broken glass.

"Wait!" Will shouted back. "I have to tell you something!" Tessa sighed again,

"What is so imperative that you need to scare me half to death in the middle of the night?"

"I love you." Will said. Tessa stopped dead in her tracks and slowly turned around.

"You don't mean that." She swallowed. "You said yourself that you're drunk."

"Yes I do!" Will argued. "I have since I first met you and you hit me with a vase."

"Then why did you say those things to me?" Tessa said, dangerously close to tears.

"I-," Will faltered, "I don't know." Tessa looked at him wearily, and said again,

"Goodnight, William." She turned again away from the window. Will knew that now was the time to go all out.

"I'm sorry, Tessa. Can't you see how sorry I am? I was scared and I didn't know what was going on with me. I mean, I've never needed anybody. Until I met you. Please Tessa." Tessa didn't dare look at him. She knew that one look into his beautiful eyes, and all the walls she had painstakingly put up would fall down. All the parts of her that needed Will would break free. She knew she wouldn't be able to say no. So she closed the curtains, sat down on her bed and cried. She cried because she didn't know what to do. She was at war with herself, her head against her heart. And neither one of them was going to win anytime soon.

Will just stood there. He blinked hard as the last few minutes sunk in. He had told Tessa exactly how he felt. Hell, he had shouted it in the middle of New York! And she just left. Isn't that what she wanted? To understand him? He was angry, but only for a few seconds before he was encumbered with pure dejection. He felt numb as he walked inside and collapsed on his bed. But he didn't sleep. He just replayed the night over and over in his head. It hurt, but he couldn't stop, so he just sat there and let himself be miserable. Tessa was doing the same.

**(A/N) I know what you're thinking: "Hey! What happened to all the fluffy Tessiam humor goodness?" Well plot happened! That's what! Don't forget to review! Because if you don't I will never know if I am a passable angst writer. I will also be sad. Like this: **:(**. Is that what you really want? Is it? Well see you next week! One more thing! To get everyone in the Christmas/Holyday spirit I thought it would be fun if everyone said their favorite food or activity during the Holydays. Oh, come on it'll be fun! My favorite thing about Christmas is the ginger bread that my dad makes every year since he was 7. And Christmas Eve Mass (it's actually not mind numbingly boring. Go figure...)**

**Your turn!**


	4. Chapter 4

**(A/N)Hi everybody! I know last week I posted the chapter a few days late (shame, shame, shame)So I decided to post this chapter early because I was sick this week and I had plenty of time to write some chapters, as well as develop a rampant addiction to The Vampire Diaries and 30 Rock. (gotta love Netflix instant play)**

**Last time on The Meeting of The Institutes: Will and Jack go drinking as part of Will's *ahem* **_**foolproof **_**plan. Turned out Jack has an unusually high tolerance for alcohol so while Will got hammered Jack didn't. Jack tries to walk Will home; Will wanders off by himself to go confess his love to Tessa. Angst ensues. **

The next morning Tessa sluggishly made her way down to the lobby. Jem and Jack were talking, and Will was sitting in a chair brooding. Tessa walked over and muttered a good morning before sitting down in the seat farthest from Will. Will glanced up at her but looked away quickly and became very fascinated with a loose thread on the armrest of his chair. Tessa gritted her teeth and said nothing. Instead she listened to Jem and Jack's conversation.

"I wanted to let you know that Will, Tessa and I have somewhere we need to be today." Jem announced apologetically.

"That's fine, I'm sure I'll find something to do." Jack responded. Tessa suddenly remembered that the meeting with the New York Institute was that morning.

"Well I'll be on my way then, have fun wherever you're going," Jack said, standing up. He gave on last smile, and then walked out into the street. Jem checked his watch and said,

"We have to leave for the New York Institute in a few minutes if we're to be on time. I need to go get my coat." Jem went back up the stairs to retrieve his coat. Will glanced up at Tessa and again looked away.

"Will-," Tessa began, "I-"she faltered. What was she going to say? _"Will, please apologize for confessing your 'love' for me in a drunken haze?" _She wasn't even sure if he remembered it. _Doesn't drinking make you forget what you did? And what if he didn't mean a word of it? What if it was an elaborate dare he accepted? What if he was just toying with me?_ These questions raced through her head as she tried to finish her sentence. The she got angry. _It's all his fault_, she realized. She had wanted to enjoy a nice trip back to New York, see Jack again, and enjoy the sunshine. But Will ruined all that. Now she couldn't stop thinking about what he said. Tessa was ready to speak very honestly with Will, when Jem returned.

"Tessa?" He said, gently nudging her, "Are you coming?" Tessa jumped, startled and a little embarrassed that she had been immersed in her own thoughts for so long. Hurriedly put on her coat and stepped out the door. There was a carriage waiting at the sidewalk. Will was already getting inside. Tessa did her best to ignore Will's existence as she and Jem sat down across from him. Their ride was short and uncomfortably silent. Tessa didn't trust herself to speak because she feared she would go off on Will, telling him exactly how much she hated him. Soon they came to a building almost as impressive as the Institute in London. Jem helped Tessa out of the carriage. There was a servant outside that greeted them and pulled open the huge wooden doors at the front of the building. Tessa briefly wondered why she hadn't noticed the Institute before. She had, after all, lived in New York for sixteen years. The servant led them down a series of hallways just as confusing as the hallways in the London Institute. Finally they arrived at what Tessa guessed was the dining hall. There was a large table with a cream colored tablecloth and witchlight chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Only two of the many seats were filled. At the head was a man in his late forties with greying hair, a square jaw, and piercing dark eyes. Sitting on the other side of the table was a younger, slighter man who vaguely resembled the man sitting at the head of the table. They both rose politely. Once Tessa took her seat between Jem and Will, the man at the head of the table spoke,

"Welcome to the New York Institute. It is a pleasure to have you here. I am David Wayland and this is my son, Elijah." Mr. Wayland gestured to his son, who nodded at them, sat back down, and started idly playing with his pocket knife.

"Thank you." Jem said courteously. Mr. Wayland sat and continued,

"We don't have much to report; it has been fairly quiet here. Though I have heard that London has been much more interesting the past couple months." Tessa wasn't sure if he was mocking them or not, so she kept silent, thankful that Jem knew exactly what to say.

"I'd be glad to retell it, but I'm sure you already know the details." Jem said, still exceptionally composed.

"I have heard a thing or two about your adventures. One thing we're all curious about is Miss. Gray here. I see you've brought her along, can I trouble you for a demonstration, Miss Gray?" Mr. Wayland said, and smiled expectantly. Elijah folded his knife and sat up, suddenly attentive. Tessa was afraid that they would ask her to change. She desperately did not want to change. She knew that if she changed for Mr. Wayland he would insist on taking her to show other shadowhunters what she could do, and it would go on, there would be questions, people staring at her, talking about her, and treating her like a monster. She didn't want to offend him either. She didn't know if there was proper Downworlder etiquette, or rules about showing people her gift. She knew she didn't want to let Charlotte down though. With a pang of dread she realized that she didn't have a choice, she had to change.

"She doesn't have to if she doesn't want to," Will said definitively. Once she got over her initial surprise she was immensely grateful. Then she remembered she hated Will, and quickly stopped herself from being pleased with him.

"But surely it couldn't be that much trouble." Mr. Wayland said hastily.

"You wouldn't know, would you?" Will countered.

"I'm afraid I don't quite understand. Is there a reason Miss Gray cannot demonstrate her unique gift?" It was obvious that Mr. Wayland was growing impatient, but Will didn't back down.

"Yes. She doesn't want to. That's reason enough."

"I do believe that it is Miss Gray's decision whether or not she wants to." He narrowed his dark eyes, and shifted his gaze over to Tessa. "Miss. Gray will you please save us an argument and demonstrate your gift?" Tessa took a deep breath and with some effort met his intimidating eyes.

"No. I would prefer not." She said quietly. She looked down at her hands and prayed that Mr. Wayland would stop asking her to change.

"No? Well, maybe later," Mr. Wayland said, suddenly extremely gracious again. Jem said something that started a conversation between the two of them. Tessa wasn't listening; she turned to her right and whispered angrily to Will,

"You didn't have to do that."

"No?" He murmured back.

"No, you didn't. I can look out for myself." she hissed.

"Whatever you say, Tessa, you're always right. Always." He whispered back sarcastically. Tessa was preparing a retort when she noticed that Will wasn't listening anymore. He was staring at the head of the table, shaking his head slowly as if not quite believing what he was seeing.

"What is it?" Tessa asked, following his gaze to beside Mr. Wayland's chair. Her mouth fell open as she tried to make sense of what her eyes were telling her she was seeing. Standing next to Mr. Wayland, fully dressed in a shadowhunter uniform, and speaking to Mr. Wayland in hushed tones was Jack.

**WHOA SNAP! Bet you didn't see that one coming! Or maybe you did because you're a psychic O.o **

**CHRISTMAS IS ALMOST HERE! :D I'm sooooo excited! Can you tell? Anyone who knows me knows that I'm an overachiever at Christmas. So this week: name the most outrageous, hilarious, ridiculous, and/or weird holiday commercial you have seen this year. For me it's the commercials for the Target 2 day sale with the Crazy Target Lady. Anyone who watched Thanksgiving football on the west coast this year knows what I'm talking about. If you don't I'll put the link on my profile. You will either start laughing hysterically, or go check your closet and under your bed for the Crazy Target Lady. **


	5. Chapter 5

**First I want to thank you guys so much for the reviews! You're all so awesome :)**

**Last time on The Meeting of The Institutes: Tessa, Will, and Jem go to the meeting with the New York Institute. They meet David Wayland and his son, Elijah. David Wayland tries very hard to get Tessa to change, but Will defends her. But wait! There's more! It turns out Jack was at the Institute as well! :O **

Jack looked up and he saw Tessa, Will, and Jem sitting at the table. His eyes widened and he stood there stunned. Mr. Wayland cleared his throat and discretely gestured for Jack to leave. Jack blinked hard, slowly turned around and walked out of the room in a daze.

"Please don't mind him, I'm sure-" Mr. Wayland started but was interrupted by Tessa.

"Excuse me" Tessa said as she abruptly pushed her chair back, crossed the room and wrenched the door open. She stepped into the hallway and looked frantically for Jack. She saw him slowly walking down the hall running his fingers through his hair subconsciously.

"What are you doing here?" Tessa demanded angrily as she marched up to him.

"I could ask you the same thing," he said, turning around.

"Why are you here?" Tessa asked again, more composed this time. They looked at each other for a moment without speaking, each trying to figure out why the other was there.

"I'm here because I have nowhere else to go." Jack said reluctantly.

"But your mother-"

"She died." Jack said shortly.

"Jack," Tessa covered her mouth with her hand and blinked back tears. "Why didn't you tell me? She was like part of my family."

"I knew you would ask questions. Questions I couldn't answer without telling you about all of this." He gestured around himself. "I didn't want you getting mixed up in it. But I guess that doesn't matter now."

"How could you not tell me?" Tessa said, her voice full of venom.

"Don't act like you're not keeping things from me!" Jack raised his voice, "What happened in London?"

"I told you already." Tessa looked down at her feet.

"So you think I'm stupid?" Jack said harshly.

"No- It's just that-" Tessa stammered.

"Just what? What deep dark secret is so bad that you can't tell me? And don't pull the 'It's for your own good that you don't know,' because it's not for my own good. You just don't want to tell me do you? Do you really think I wouldn't know you're keeping something from me? " After he finished he crossed his arms and waited. Tessa looked up at his cold expression.

"Have you ever thought that I haven't told you because I don't want to remember it myself?" She said as she fought back tears, "Because I haven't been able to sleep through the night or trust that anyone is who they say they are since." Tessa drew in a shaky breath. "And I thought that coming here and seeing you again would help me, but I guess I was mistaken." She started to walk back to the meeting room, but Jack blocked her path,

"Hey. Wait-Tessa, I'm so sorry." he said anxiously, "I don't care what happened in London. You don't have to tell me anything about it if you don't want to. Please don't cry."

"I'm not going to cry." Tessa wiped her eyes. Jack looked at her ruefully and opened up his arms. Tessa smiled and gratefully returned the hug.

"Am I allowed to ask if you're a shadowhunter?" Jack said.

"Yes." Tessa said as she stepped out of the hug. "And my answer is no. Are you a shadowhunter?"

"Nope." Jack said. "Just a mundane, that's what they call me anyway."

"But you have the sight." Tessa reasoned.

"That's why they hired me. I help out the shadowhunters when they need me and generally just stay out of the way when they don't." Tessa noticed a hint of bitterness in his voice. "Am I allowed to ask how you got involved with the shadowhunters?" Jack said after a moment.

"I-" Tessa hesitated. She knew how some shadowhunters viewed warlocks. Would Jack think of her differently? Would he be afraid of her or even hate her? She quickly crushed this train of thought. She had known Jack since they were kids. He would not care if she was a warlock.

"I'm a warlock." Tessa said quietly. This gave Jack some pause.

"You're a warlock?" Jack repeated.

"I do believe that was what she just said." Will said coolly, startling them. Will was leaning against the wall, examining his fingernails as if he had been there the whole time. "Oh, don't mind me," he said looking up, "You just go right on doing whatever it is that you're doing. " Tessa opened her mouth to ask what he was doing when Will took in a dramatic breath and continued, "I would just hate to have to tell Mr. Wayland that Jack here is shirking his responsibilities and delaying an important meeting." Will looked up and grinned earnestly.

"I-I have to go." Jack stammered, and quickly walked away. Tessa watched him go, troubled at how he looked almost afraid. It was soon replaced by anger towards Will, as was the norm.

"What are you doing?" Tessa demanded. "That conversation was private."

"Oh, I didn't hear anything. I just got here. Were you talking about me? Because if you were that's not very nice." Will said maintaining his infuriatingly facetious tone.

"Not everything is about you, William." Tessa said. "And I'm not going to tell you what we were talking about."

"Secrets are lies and bad manners besides," Will said in a singsong voice. Tessa looked at him coldly then started walking back to the meeting room. "Hey!" Will called "Wait up!" Tessa didn't slow down, but Will soon fell into step with her. "You really shouldn't pout, Tess, it's not a good look for you."

"I am not pouting." Tessa said without looking at him. "And I would thank you to stop talking because I've had my fill of you for the day. Why don't you go play 'Look at me' somewhere else?"

"Well if you really must know 'Look at me' is only fun with you." Will said teasingly. They arrived at the door that led to the meeting room.

"Do you ever think of anyone but yourself?" Tessa asked before pulling the door open and walking back into the meeting room.

"Yes, quite a bit in fact." Will said quietly when Tessa was safely out of earshot before following her into the meeting room.

**I know this is a day late, but come on! Did you really expect me to write on Christmas? I had stuff to do, fun Christmasy stuff :D. Speaking of fun Chrismasy stuff This week's question: What was the best, worst, most hilarious, or just plain random present you got this holiday season? I got this amazingly awesome camera that I've been wanting for a really long time. I also got these huge head phones that go all the way around my ears. I look completely ridiculous when I wear them, but the sound quality is totally worth it. I got a really random present from my aunt, a funnel cake making kit. The most hilarious present this year goes to my brother. He unwrapped a present to find a Lego set he got last year that he never built. Bit off topic, but I had soooo much fun writing Will's dialogue for this chapter. REMEMBER TO REVIEW! SEE YOU NEXT WEEK! :D**


	6. Chapter 6

**Why hello there, fancy meeting you here! Thanks soooo much again for the reviews! I should probably disclaim- I don't own ID. Well, that's about it, enjoy the chapter! :D**

Jack hefted the heavy saddle over his shoulder and carried it over to the shelf where it belonged. He had been working in the stables for a good couple of hours, fixing saddles and feeding the horses. It was late, about 1:oo in the morning, but Jack still had to work, it was his job. All the work gave him a long time to think about what Tessa told him. His thoughts evolved from _"Tessa is a Warlock? That's not possible warlocks have weird tails or wings or blue skin, Tessa is normal." _to things like _"I wonder if she can do magic. Has she ever casted a spell on me?" _And always back in a full circle to _"It's just impossible. How could she not be human? We grew up together – I know her." _Jack heard the stable doors slam open, and he quickly looked up. It was Elijah, sauntering toward him, flipping around his beloved pocket knife. Jack quickly looked down and tried to appear very busy. Jack knew if he just tried to blend in, and not draw attention to himself, Elijah would leave without tormenting him too much. Jack sneaked a glance up and saw that Elijah was still walking toward him with a smug look on his face. Jack sighed and stood up; today he was out of luck.

"I saw you were awfully cozy with that Downworlder today. If I didn't know better I would think you knew each other." Elijah said, and shrugged off his jacket. Jack set his jaw and stared stonily ahead.

"She's my best friend. I haven't seen her in years." Jack answered.

"Your best friend?" Elijah said, with fake delight, "Did you know that your _best friend _is an abomination, a demon that shouldn't walk the earth?" Elijah's voice dropped, and he shoved Jack backward, so he landed in an old wooden chair. He flipped open his knife leaned forward and slowly drew the blade across the side of Jack's neck. "Did you know that she was a warlock?" He asked again. Jack winced as the knife cut his skin, and blood started to trickle down his neck.

"She told me today." Jack said, keeping his gaze directed at the patch of wall over Elijah's shoulder. He couldn't lose control of his anger. He knew if he fought Elijah he could easily kill him. Jack had learned to play along, answer his questions truthfully, and take the beating.

"The little demon told you?" Elijah said, amused again.

"She's not a demon." Jack growled. "She is the farthest thing from it. She's the-" Jack didn't get to finish Elijah gave him an enormous backhand that snapped Jack's head to the side, almost sending him toppling out of his chair. Jack sucked in a painful breath but didn't cry out.

"Would you like to rephrase that? I can't have you spouting lies." Elijah roughly pushed him upright again.

"Go to Hell." Jack spat back at Elijah.

"Pity." Elijah mused before delivering three more blows in quick succession. Jack doubled over and spat out the blood that filled his mouth before Elijah pulled him back up. "It's disgusting really," Elijah said, pacing in front of Jack, "The Downworlders are like a plague on the earth, especially the warlocks. Oh, look we have company." Jack didn't look up; he assumed it was one of Elijah's shadowhunter friends, coming to join in the fun. "Come over here, Eric. I was just teaching my friend Jack, here about Downworlders. He's a slow learner."

"I can see that." said Eric, as he walked over next to Elijah. "Does he like them, the Downworlders?" Eric asked.

"He's bloody defending one." Elijah responded. He then gave Jack another backhand, this time actually sending him to the ground.

"Hey, I think he's had enough." Eric said warily, "Let's go get a drink, come on." Eric pulled Elijah's arm, but Elijah shrugged him off.

"Not until he learns his lesson." He turned around and addressed Jack, who was still face down on the floor. "Get up." When Jack didn't move Elijah drew his foot back and kicked him in the ribs, making Jack flip over. Jack groaned when he heard the sick crack of his ribs probably breaking. "Get up." Elijah said again. Jack turned over and slowly got to his feet, wincing the whole way up.

"Hey, come on, he's mundane he can't take as much as us. He's had enough." Eric tried again, with no avail. Elijah grinned, like he got a brilliant idea,

"Fight me." he said to Jack.

"No." Jack said resolutely. Elijah punched him in the face again, making Jack stagger backwards.

"I said, fight me." Jack knew there was no way around it. He was going to have to fight Elijah. If he fought him, Elijah would most likely kill him. Elijah was stronger, faster, and a much better fighter than him. His only hope was to run away, but there was absolutely no chance of that. He began to think very quickly. He knew from experience that if you got hit hard enough in the nose your eyes watered up and you can't see for a few seconds. If he got in a good shot at Elijah's nose it might give him enough time to get the Hell out of there. A part of him doubted he'd ever get a shot in, but given the circumstances he decided to ignore that particular gaping hole in his plan. He raised his fists, to Elijah's delight. The first three hits Jack didn't even see coming. He only felt mind numbing pain in his ribs and stomach, and nose. He doubled over, sucking in his breath before slowly straightening up again. This time he was ready.

He did some boxing in school, so he knew how to block a punch. He raised his fists to protect his face and gritted his teeth, expecting the next blow. Elijah aimed at his face, but Jack moved his fists in time to block the punch. He quickly thrust out his fist, aiming for Elijah's nose. His fist connected with a sickening _CRACK _Elijah clutched his face while spewing profanity. Jack wasted no time sprinting out the door. Elijah's friend Eric watched Jack go, not even making an effort to stop him.

Jack ran to the front of the Institute where the tall gate was, every injured part of him screaming for him to stop moving. But he kept going. He pushed the gate open, and ran down the sidewalk away from the Institute, occasionally looking over his shoulder to make sure they weren't following him. After a few minutes he stumbled into an alley and slumped down against the wall. There was mud and trash around him and a rat by his shoe, but he didn't care. All he could do was catch his breath and try not to cry out in pain. His whole face was throbbing painfully; his lip was swelling up as well as his left eye. His ribs on his right side were definitely cracked, possibly broken. His nose was numb. He knew he had to move. He couldn't stay there in the alley. So very slowly with much help from the wall he got up and started limping to the only place he could go.

**Happy New Year! YAY! I had so much fun this New Year's, my brother, my best friend, my best friend's brother, and I all stayed up 'till midnight- EASTERN TIME! (That's about 9:00 where I live) So yeah a pretty wild night, we played Wii sports and drank a TON! (of milk) I am one wild child. I seriously doubt any of you had a more interesting and exciting New Year's than me, but I still want to hear about it! You know the drill: most funny/crazy/scary or just weird moment, or series of moments if you're feeling adventurous. Or if you're feeling downright courageous you can share a funny New Year's resolution… Or, you know you could leave an actual review of my story… but what fun is that?**


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm sorry this is really late. I know you're probably expecting a long whiney rant about finals and science projects and my dad confiscating the Wi-Fi so my ADD brain actually gets some work done. Believe me I want to whine - really really bad. But I'm not going to put you through that, so I invented a new way of complaining and making excuses. It's called speed- whining, I compress all my complaining into ten words. You have to imagine me saying those words in the whiniest voice possible to get the full effect. Or, if you have a younger sibling or family member that is especially adept at whining you can have them read aloud to you. So here are my 10 words:**

**I HAVEN'T WATCHED DOCTOR WHO IN THREE WHOLE FREAKING DAYS!**

**I just realized I stopped doing those "Last time on The Meeting of the Institutes" thingies. I hope none of you are too disappointed. Well go ahead: read and be happy**.

Jack stumbled down the hallway searching for Tessa's room. He remembered the room number that Tessa said she was staying in. _12, 13, 14,_ he counted off the numbers on the doors in his head. Finally he found the door with the number 17 painted on it. He knocked on the door, leaning heavily on the wall. After a minute or two Tessa opened the door, dressed in her nightgown and robe and rubbing her eyes.

"What's going on?" Tessa muttered. She yawned and looked up at Jack, her eyes widening in shock. "Jack, what happened?" She said frantically, pulling him inside. She helped him sit down in a chair next to her bed. "Wait right here. I'll be back in three seconds." With that Tessa dashed out of the room and sprinted down the hall to Jem and Will's room. Tessa started banging on the door with her fist. It was Will who answered the door,

"Tess what's going on?" Will grumbled, "I was sleeping."

"It's Jack- he's hurt. Bring Jem." Tessa said hurriedly before turning around again and running back to her room. Will looked over his shoulder to see Jem already standing and ready to go. Will shrugged and walked down the hall to Tessa's room. He opened the door to see Jack sitting in a chair, badly beaten up, and Tessa sitting beside him, looking very worried. When Will came in Tessa got up and started talking frantically,

"We need ice- and bandages and do we need a doctor?" Will caught her wrists gently in his hands and spoke calmly to her.

"You need to calm down," he said.

"I'm fine," Tessa growled and jerked her hands away. "What happened? Who did this?" Tessa asked Jack.

"I- uh… I fell down." Jack said.

"You fell down?" Tessa repeated skeptically after a pause.

"Yeah, I fell down the stairs." Jack said after some thought.

"Huh. Well here I always thought stairs were rather peaceful creatures. I never knew they had a violent side. I'll remember to be more respectful next time I encounter some. " Will said sarcastically, earning him a glare from Tessa. "Those stairs did do quite a number on your face though." Will continued thoughtfully.

"Will, why don't you go get some ice? There's probably some in the hotel kitchen," Jem said, stepping forward to examine Jack's various cuts and bruises.

"But there's _stairs_." Will said, his eyes wide with horror, "I'll have to go down _stairs_! What if they attack me? What if I die? Or worse, what if the stairs ruin my beautiful face?"

"Just shut up Will," Tessa said indignantly, "and go fetch some ice. Now." Will grudgingly complied and exited the room, muttering to himself about evil stairs.

"Well good news is your nose isn't broken." Jem said, "But your neck is going to need stitches and you're going to have to take it easy for a couple weeks so your ribs can heal."

"Are you going to stitch me up?" Jack asked, gingerly touching the cut on his neck.

"Yeah. If I can find a needle, I would expect this room to have some kind of sewing kit." Jem said while rummaging around in the large closet. "Here we are," he said as he pulled out a small basket with an envelope that had needles and thread in it. Jem walked back over and opened up the envelope. "Do you have a color preference? There's black, blue, red, pink and green thread," Jem said jokingly.

"I don't know, what do you think, Tessa?" Jack laughed a bit, then winced and but a hand on his ribs.

"This isn't funny." Tessa said.

"Pink it is." Jack said with a grin. Obligingly Jem threaded the needle with pink thread, but paused, like he was forgetting something.

"Wait. I'll be right back." Jem said, and quickly walked back to his room.

"I'm sorry about Will. He's just… I don't know," Tessa sighed.

"Don't apologize for him," Jack said, "He can be a smart ass if he wants to. That's his choice. And the joke's on him when one day he wakes up and there's no one there to apologize for him anymore."

_Do I really always apologize for him?_ Tessa wondered. _Why would I? I don't care about him. _Tessa looked up as she heard the door open. Jem entered, carrying a bottle of some type of alcohol.

"And what's that for?" Tessa asked suspiciously.

"Sterilizing the needle. My mother would use special alcohol, but this should work just fine." Jem said as he sat down next to Jack and Tessa.

"Well where'd you get it?" Tessa asked.

"Do I really have to answer that?" Jem replied, "Will had three of these in his suitcase."

"Of course, silly me." Tessa said sarcastically. She watched as Jem carefully soak the needle and thread in the alcohol, and clean his neck. "Are you doing okay?" Tessa asked Jack while holding his hand.

"I'm fine. It's not like I'm getting my leg sawed off." Jack grinned and squeezed her hand. "My face does hurt quite a bit though."

"Where is Will?" Tessa said, exasperated, "He should be back by now." As if on cue Will sashayed into the room.

"I'm back!" He announced, "And I come bearing gifts." He held out a bowl filled with shards of ice.

"Thanks." Tessa said quickly as she took the ice from him. Will looked around, and finding nothing better to do he made himself comfortable sprawled on Tessa's bed.

_God, this is annoying, _Will thought to himself. He was already sick of seeing Tessa fuss over Jack, hearing her apologize and tear up if he so much as winced. _I am not jealous; I just have a low tolerance for people who are weak, like Connors. _Will thought, _a very low tolerance_.

**Ok, I know this chapter was more of a filler, but next chapters will be oh so much better *Evil laughter* Just to let you know since I have all my finals to study for and semester projects the next chapter might be late as well. But if I finish it early I promise to publish it right when I'm done with it to make up for the lateness of this chapter.**

**Keeping with the I-Hate-Finals-Week theme, this chapter's question is "What do you hate most about finals week, besides the tests and studying?" The thing I hate the most besides the tests and studying is the crazy test schedules that no one understands. If you can't answer that question because you love finals week with all your heart you can tell about your most epic moment this week. **

** Remember to review! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey****everybody****! ****I am all done with finals! WOO HOO! I went on a fancy chocolate and Dr. Who binge Saturday so I now pronounce myself rehabilitated and ready to forget everything I crammed into my brain over the past week. So other stuff that happened this week: I played Call of Duty for the first time ever with my big brother and one of his friends. I believe I did very well for my first time, although my brother and his friend seemed to disagree. Apparently spinning around in circles and shooting the ground is not a valid combat tactic. And apparently it is "incorrect" to make your character walk into the bookstore in the exploded airport to check out what books they have. And apparently screaming at the TV does not make the other players show mercy. They let me play for the better part of an hour because they found it so amusing. It was still really awesome though**.

"Are you awake?" Tessa whispered across the room.

"Yeah." Jack replied "I couldn't sleep."

"Me neither." Tessa said. Jack was lying down on the couch across the room from Tessa. Will had protested, saying that Jack should sleep in the hallway, but he was overruled. It was about half an hour after Jem left, dragging Will along with him. The whole room was eerily silent, and very cold on the account that Tessa's window was still broken. "Come sit next to me." Tessa said and lifted up the covers. Jack got up from the couch and soundlessly walked over and joined Tessa.

"I missed you a lot when I was in London." Tessa said.

"I missed you too."

"Why won't you tell me who attacked you? You know you can tell me anything." Tessa asked.

"Why won't you tell me what happened in London?" Jack answered.

"Fine, you'll figure it out soon enough anyway. I'll tell you what happened in London only if you tell me what happened to you first."

"Deal." Jack scooted closer to Tessa and put his arm around her. Tessa leaned her head on his shoulder. "Now whatever I say you have to promise not to make a huge fuss."

"I have never made a huge fuss." Tessa scoffed.

"Alright," Jack said defensively, "Elijah Wayland beat me up." Tessa made a face of loathing,

"I will kill him. I will dig out one of his ribs and stab him in the face with it." She said sincerely.

"What was that about not making a fuss?" Jack teased.

"Why would he do that?" Tessa demanded.

"It was nothing, he just had different viewpoints that he felt he had to enforce." Jack shrugged.

"Jack, really. And don't you dare defend him." Tessa warned. Jack ran a hand through his hair tensely,

"He called you awful things and I wasn't okay with it. That's all."

"Jack!" Tessa exclaimed, severely.

"Hey! Don't be mad he's just a stupid bully, hiding behind his father."

"I'm not mad about the name calling I'm furious that you took a beating for me!"

"No, it was nothing, it wasn't even one of the worse ones. And I will always stick up for you." Jack reassured.

"One of the 'worse ones?' You mean this has happened before?" Tessa almost shrieked.

"No!" Jack answered.

"You're lying." Tessa snapped.

"Fine!" Jack groaned and fell back against the pillows and shut his eyes. "Yes, it has happened before." Tessa sighed and reached out for his hand.

"What am I going to do with you?" Tessa mused jokingly.

"Who knows?" Jack agreed, "Well now it's your turn. I unloaded all my deep dark secrets, now you take over story time." Tessa knew that there was no way to dodge this one. She was going to have to tell Jack everything. She took a deep breath and began her story,

"After Aunt Harriet died I received a letter, from Nate. It said that he was doing well in London and he wanted me to come live with him."

"I remember that, you were so excited when you left for London on that steamer," Jack interjected.

"Yes. But when I got to London Nate wasn't there. Two horrible old women took me and locked me in this house and they… they trained me to use my gift. They wanted to train me so the Magister could use me for… something." Tessa shuddered at the memories of the Dark Sister's house, where she had been a prisoner. "They told me that they had Nate captive and if I didn't do what they told me to do they would kill him."

"Did they have him captive? Was he alright?" Jack asked.

"No. They didn't have him," Tessa continued before Jack could ask more questions she wasn't ready to answer, "One night I tried to escape. They caught me and locked me up again. That was the first time I met Will. He found me and rescued me. He protected me when the Dark Sisters tried to kill me. He took me to the Institute in London." Tessa unwittingly smiled fondly at the memory of her meeting with Will.

"I kept looking for Nate, Will and Jem helped me. We found him almost dead at a vampire dinner party." The bloody battle briefly flashed through her mind. She remembered how scared she had been, but how she fought for Nate anyway. "We brought Nate back, and he got better. Charlotte, Henry, Jem and Will kept looking for the Magister and his horrible clockwork demons. They didn't find him." Tessa took a deep breath and swallowed, "Then, one night when all the shadowhunters were gone, and only Jessamine, Agatha, Thomas and Sophie, and I were there the Magister attacked the Institute. The clockwork men… they killed Thomas and Agatha. The Magister he was actually Alexi Mortmain. He took me hostage, and tried to make me change. I held him off long enough for Will to come and save me."

"But how did they know there were no shadowhunters there?" Jack asked. Tessa felt her eyes tear up as she spoke the words she wished she could forget.

"It was Nate. He was working for the Mortmain the whole time. He was the one who gave me to the Dark Sisters. He killed Aunt Harriet." She looked ahead stoically, willing herself not to cry.

"_What?" _Jack sat up and faced Tessa, his eyes wide with shock. Tessa shook her head, tears streaming down her face. She tried to choke out some words, but she couldn't. Jack wrapped his arms around her and whispered to her, "I am so sorry." again and again. Once her breathing calmed Tessa realized something, this was the first time in months that someone was there to hold her when she cried. Ever since Aunt Harriet died she had no one. When she cried there was no one there to cheer her up, tell her to snap out of it, or just hold her. Now she had Jack. Despite herself Tessa smiled. Jack was her rock. He was the one constant in her life. He was the one person who would always be there. That's why she loved Jack like he was her brother. He was her best friend. He didn't have mood swings that gave her whiplash. He didn't pretend that whole nights never happened. He was distinctly not Will. _Stop it! You are having a tender moment with Jack, not daydreaming about Will!_ Tessa scolded herself.

"Thank you." Tessa said, and pulled away from Jack, wiping her eyes.

"For what?"

"For being you." Tessa smiled.

"Right…" Jack said.

"We're all done! No more secrets!" Tessa said happily. Jack looked at her, and after a pause he said slowly,

"Almost. I have one more." He paused and took a deep breath, "Tessa, I love you." He then bent down and kissed her. It took Tessa a few seconds to fully register what just happened. By the time Jack pulled away she was over the initial shock. She sat there blinking, while Jack studied her uneasily. It all felt so wrong to Tessa. She didn't know why it just wasn't right. She had the sudden urge to run, to get the Hell out of there and figure herself out. So she did.

"I'm so sorry I have to go," Tessa said numbly. She got off the bed and stepped into her slippers.

"But- wait! Tessa, where are you going?" Jack got out of the bed too, and faced her, "What-?"

"I'm sorry. It's not you it's me… I- I just have to go." Tessa struggled to finish her sentences. She grabbed her robe off the back of a chair and slipped out the door. Once the door was closed she took off running. She sprinted through the hall, down the stairs and out into the cold night, leaving Jack standing in the middle of her room, desperately trying to figure out what just happened.

**I** **know this chapter is late too, but I thought that you all would enjoy a well written, well thought out chapter rather than a half- assed filler. So I hope you liked it, and remember to review! **


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